A report on the 31st Annual Conference of the Japanese Society of Health Education and Promotion

<p>The focal theme of the 31st Annual Conference organized by the Japanese Society for Health Education and Promotion was “Challenging the Gap between Evidence and Practice.” The aim of the conference was to delve into the roles and methodologies to be assumed by health education and promotion from the viewpoint of how evidence generated through basic research, clinical research, and epidemiological research can be applied in society and linked to practice. Notably, this was the first face-to-face meeting since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 423 participants (362 on-site and 61 online) attended the conference. The designated topics included the President’s Lecture, a trilogy focusing on measures to foster an environment conducive to healthy lifestyles, Meet the Expert sessions on four themes, two educational lectures on tobacco control advocacy and implementation science, two symposia on health promotion and quality improvement in health care, and nudges and incentives, and lecture on the Society’s Encouragement Award. A total of 73 general presentations were made: 63 oral presentations and 10 round table presentations. Of the 63 oral presentations, five were honored with the Society President’s Award. The co-sponsored seminars, including an evening seminar on vaccination and two luncheon seminars on the use of nudges and ICT, were held. The post-conference questionnaires indicated a high level of satisfaction with the conference and the various insights and learnings that were offered. We hope this conference will lead to further development of each participant’s practice and research endeavors.</p>